Santa Clara University

25th Annual ACS Undergraduate Research Symposium

Saturday,  May 4th, 2013

            The Chemistry Department of Santa Clara University, in association with the Santa Clara Valley Section of the American Chemical Society, is pleased to host the 25th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, May 4, 2013, at Santa Clara University.  This conference, offered in rotation with the California Section of the ACS, provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to present the results of their individual research activities in a relaxed environment. 

To register for the event:
Students are automatically registered when they submit their abstracts.  Faculty, research partners, and anyone not presenting may wish to register as a guest by contacting l1barretto@scu.edu.

The symposium this year will feature both oral and poster presentations.  Students who wish to give a presentation must complete an official abstract form, in consultation with their research advisor.  Please review the instructions for completing and submitting abstracts prior to completing the abstract form. 

In completing the abstract form, students should indicate their preferred presentation format by checking the appropriate box on the abstract form.  Every effort will be made to accommodate students with their first choice as to presentation style.  If the presentation style cannot be accommodated, the student or research director will be contacted to discuss other arrangements; it is, thus, vital that appropriate e-mail addresses be provided with the abstract.

The deadline for receipt of abstracts is Monday, April 22, 2013.  This will allow sufficient time to finalize all preparations.  Late abstracts will also be accepted, on a space available basis, until April 26th.  Students who are not planning to present research results are warmly encouraged to attend the conference to lend support to their student colleagues and to meet fellow students from around Northern California.  The deadline for registration (all students, faculty and staff) is Friday, April 26, 2013.  Abstracts must be submitted via email to Ms. Lourdes Barretto (L1Barretto@scu.edu).  Please include the words “ACS Conference Abstract” in the subject line of your email. 

A tentative program is as follows:

      8:00  to  8:45 am        Registration
      9:00  to 11:30 am       Oral presentations (multiple concurrent sessions)
     11:30 to 12:30 pm       Lunch and poster session
      1:00  to  2:00 pm        Keynote address:  Dr. Harry Gray, Caltech

"The 21st Century Solar Army"

                  Abstract:

The sun is a boundless source of clean energy, but it goes down
every night. We and many others are trying to design solar-driven
molecular machines that could be used on a global scale to store
solar energy by splitting water into its elemental components,
hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is a clean fuel that could be used
directly or combined with carbon dioxide to produce methanol, a liquid fuel.
We are investigating the structures and mechanisms of hydrogen evolving
catalysts made from Earth's abundant elements such as cobalt, iron,
nickel, and molybdenum. We also are employing pulsed laser ablation for
synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles that will be deployed as catalysts
on photoanodes such as tungsten oxide. To aid our research, we have
recruited hundreds of students to join a Solar Army whose mission is
the discovery of mixed metal oxides for testing on the photoanodes of
our solar water splitters.

A final agenda will be posted after registration period.  Additional information may be obtained by contacting Dr. Linda Brunauer at (408) 554-6947 (lbrunauer@scu.edu) or Ms. Lourdes Barretto at (408) 554-4799 (L1Barretto@scu.edu). 

An official flyer to advertise this event to your students can be downloaded.